Warrington (12) 26
Tries: Clarke, Bridge, Johnson, Carvell Goals: Grix, Bridge 4
St Helens (18) 40
Tries: Gilmour, Graham 2, Gardner, Wellens, Eastmond, Meli Goals: Eastmond 6

Eastmond appears to be the natural successor to Sean Long

Teenage scrum-half Kyle Eastmond steered St Helens to a hard-fought win over a spirited Warrington side.

The Wolves set the tone for a thrilling encounter when Jon Clarke finished off a slick, 60-metre move that sliced the Super League leaders apart.

Saints hit back as the two sides traded scores before Warrington faded late on.

With the home side two points clear midway through the second half, Saints took control with three late tries, the match-clincher coming from Eastmond.

The 19-year-old had already created tries for Ade Gardner, Lee Gilmour and Paul Wellens before touching down himself 11 minutes from time.

Eastwood looked the natural replacement for Sean Long, sidelined with a broken jaw, as he kicked six goals from eight attempts to further lay claim to the number seven jersey when the former Great Britain scrum-half leaves Knowsley Road at the end of the season.

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After Eastmond's try, England prop James Graham crashed over for his second try of the match and winger Francis Meli added a late score to give Saints a flattering margin of victory.

Warrington, looking for a first derby win for eight years, gave a debut to former Wigan and Great Britain winger Brian Carney but sorely missed past and present captains Lee Briers and Adrian Morley.

The home side also lost centre Simon Grix with a badly-cut face after only 10 minutes but Clarke's stunning try put them ahead.

Saints, who have only lost once to the Wolves in 35 Super League encounters, hit back with two tries in five minutes.

Lee Gilmour showed speed and strength to get around the back of the Warrington rearguard after a clever offload from Eastmond, who went on to add the extras and level the score.

Despite spirited Warrington defending Saints somehow found another hole as Graham charged through to score his fourth try of the season and put St Helens ahead.

Once Eastmond slotted a penalty between the sticks on 20 minutes, it looked unlikely the Wolves would be able to stay with them.

However, Chris Bridge's try and extras nine minutes before the interval pulled the home side back into the game.

Warrington struck within five minutes of the restart to draw level, with former Great Britain centre Paul Johnson beating three defenders, including a flat-footed Jon Wilkin, for a fine solo try.

And the lead changed hands for a third time on 50 minutes when Garreth Carvell grasped the ball from James Roby and held off the Saints cover in a 70-metre race for the line.

Bridge's fourth goal made it 24-18, but it was all square once more on 55 minutes when Eastmond burst clear to send acting captain Paul Wellens over for a try.

The game looked to have swung Warrington's way on 66 minutes when Bridge stepped up to kick a penalty from 38 metres out.

But Eastmond once again came to the fore and finished decisively before Graham and Meli added tries six and seven.

Warrington coach Tony Smith:

"We certainly did it tough, we were down to two substitutes in the second half and it took its toll on us.

"Simon Grix had a pretty severe cut to his lip and we thought we were going to have to take him straight to hospital but the doctor did a pretty good job stitching him up.

"It's hard to beat a team like St Helens when you're not fully fit and you've not got the full rotation.

"It was a gallant effort by the boys. They gave it a shot and Saints know they've been in a game.

"We let in a few soft tries but I thought Saints finished off the game really strongly. Rarely does a scoreline lie."

St Helens coach Mick Potter:

"There is a lot of water to go under the bridge before next year and we'll see how Eastmond progresses but I'm happy with what I've seen tonight.

"He was probably a little slow out of the blocks but he worked his way into the game really well. He controlled the team and looked lively. He was involved in a few big plays.

"It was a tough match, a few little things didn't go our way but our reaction to that bit of adversity was fantastic."

Warrington: Mathers, Carney, Grix, King, Riley, Bridge, Monaghan, Wood, Clarke, Carvell, L. Anderson, Westwood, Harrison.
Replacements: Johnson, V. Anderson, Cooper, Mitchell.

St Helens: Wellens, Gardner, Eastmond, Wheeler, Gilmour, Puletua, Pryce, Meli, Graham, Roby, Clough, Wilkin, Flannery.
Replacements: Hargreaves, Fa'asavalu, Dixon, Lomax.

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